ABC Training Center

by Dave Herwitz, Director of Admissions, ABC Training Center

Choices.  Life is full of them.  Whether you’re buying a new car or a cheeseburger, the possibilities are always seemingly endless.  Same holds true for career training programs in New York City.  There are definitely many choices and you want to be very careful in choosing where to complete your medical career training.  So while you search for a school to prepare you for your career, your search should start with these five important questions:

Question 1: How long have you been in business? We’re talking about your training and ultimately your career here.  It’s not a one-time frivolous purchase.  Now I know there are some good programs that have come on the scene in recent years but those are the exception and not the rule.  You definitely want a medical career training school that’s been around for a good number of years.  It means that they have solid history of educating and training students based on tried and true methods

Question 2: Where do your graduates work? One thing is to graduate and have a fancy certificate saying so.  It’s another thing to wake up every morning knowing that you have a good, stable job to go to.  Look at a school’s site or simply ask them for info on where some recent grads have gone on to work.  Hopefully the list impresses you.

Question 3:  Are you licensed by the New York State Department of Education? Important question.  Why?  Because you want a program that adheres to the stringent guidelines that are put forth by the state of New York.  This includes coursework as well as facilities.  Additionally, the state regulates enrollment agreement contracts and approves/licenses instructors and school directors.  It also inspects all classrooms, equipment and record-keeping on an ongoing basis to ensure that certifications issued by a school are legitimate and recognized by the professional licensing bodies.  A lot of programs that are available will fail to mention that they are not licensed by the state.  Make sure you find out this crucial piece of info before proceeding.

Question 4: Will you help me get a job? What kind of career services are there for current students and recent grads?  Will a school put you in front of recruiters and other hiring personnel?  Or will you be left to navigate the job process on your own.  A medical career training school with excellent job placement services will always serve its students better than a school with sub-par career services.

Question 5:  How much does it cost? Sounds simple enough right?  I want to take a class to become a Home Health Aide so how much can I expect to pay.  You’d be surprised at how many schools do not publish their tuition online or even tell you on the phone.  This shouldn’t be a secret.  There’s a cost and every prospective student should know what a program costs up front.  If an admissions person’s response to the cost question is simply – “it depends” – without further elaboration or if you have to “come in for a visit” then it’s time to look elsewhere.

So there you have it.  And while there are many other questions you should be asking when picking a school, these 5 questions should be at the top of your list in helping you in determine the next phase of your career.  Good luck!

Questions? Comments?  Contact us at abctrain1@aol.com.

With more and more schools increasing tuition fees, many students are faced with huge debts upon graduation or even when they drop out of a program of studies.  Health training and allied health training can cost up to $24,000 at some institutions.  Additionally, if graduates are late or delinquent in paying back the loans, interest starts to mount.  If the loans are not paid back in a timely manner, an employer is asked by the Federal government, the bank, or the Department of Education, to garnish salaries until the loan is repaid.

One does not have to take this route for training.  Many schools charge lower fees, have fewer fees, faster training and collect small weekly or monthly payments as you progress through your program.  When you graduate and get a job, all the salary goes to you.  None of your salary has to go to paying back huge loans.

In recent years the media has reported on countless cases where people with school loans, who, after years of interest payments, are now saddled with debt in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  How can they ever repay these loans?  How can one feel economic security with debts like these?  How can school graduates plan to have and maintain a family with debt like this?

It is possible to attend a NY State licensed school that does not load you up with debt.  Time and time again we meet good, hardworking people who enter programs that burden themselves  with debt simply because they did not do their research and explore the alternatives.

So do yourself a huge favor and take the time to research the many different places where you can get your allied health training.  Compare prices before you enroll, select a career program that has been approved by the NY State Education Department and then chose the programs that are the least expensive and that allow you to graduate with no debt.

Questions? Comments?  Contact us at abctrain1@aol.com.

Building Blocks

Hello friends and welcome to the launch of ABC Training Center’s new blog:  Building Blocks. My name is Dave Herwitz and I am the Director of Admissions at ABC Training Center in the Bronx.  My hope is that this blog becomes a place where I can share my thoughts and feelings on all things related to the medical career field, job training and employment.

Over the course of the past few years, we have all witnessed the worst of the recession.  Anyone would be hard pressed to find someone – ANYONE – who has not been affected in some way by the current state of affairs in our country.  Meanwhile, many pundits are declaring the recession “over”.  But is it really over?  There are some signs I suppose.  But at the same time, gas prices are at a yearly high as I write this and the latest employment figures show only a very slight improvement.  Sadly, I personally know of way too many good people who were victims of the downturn and have suffered through loss of employment, corporate restructuring, downsizing – or any other term that is meant to sugarcoat a job loss.

I do, however, take solace in the fact that over that same course of time, I have had the pleasure of meeting many of our students who have come through our career training programs and subsequently managed to land well paying, stable jobs.  The key word here is “stable”.  You see, no matter what the state of the economy, medical careers are some of only a handful of jobs that are virtually recession proof.  Real estate? -Terribly unstable.  IT jobs? – Outsourced to Asia.  Manufacturing and construction? – No chance in a bad economy.  Retail? – Ask the folks at Circuit City and Borders Book Stores about how stable their jobs are.  Banking and Finance?  Last time I checked they actually were one of the major causes of this recession.

Now ask someone who is a Home Health Aide or a Medical Coder and Biller about their chances of future employment.  Take a look at job sites or look at the US Dept. of Labor websites and look at the job outlook for Allied Health jobs.  Quite a difference.  Just look at the facts.  We are an aging population.  Obesity is at an all-time high.  We’re constantly dealing with increased levels of stress.  This all translates into an increased need for medical services and programs all over the country.  And an increase in the demand for medical related careers is the direct result.

This is your opportunity.

This is your opportunity to arm yourself with skills and knowledge that will put you ahead of most.  So go ahead.  Get angry.  Make yourself better.  Obtain new skills and make yourself “job-ready.”  Do whatever it takes to kick this recession in the rear end.  Your attitude must be one of defiance in the face of not only this economic downturn but of future ones as well.  So repeat after me: “I will not participate in this recession…I will not participate in this recession…I will not participate in this recession…”

Questions? Comments?  Contact us at abctrain1@aol.com.